A Long Way From Home
by SirPlop
Summary: The sequel to The Adventure of Jack. Fresh from the portal, Jack is thrown into an unknown, or rather forgotten land. Will he make friends, or foes?
1. Chapter 0: Prologue-ish thing

I opened my eyes, dim light filtering through. I felt something heavy on top of me. I lifted my head to see I was buried in snow.

"How very peculiar." I said. "I don't recall it snowing in Minecraftia this time of year."

I looked up at the two moons(The second moon of Minecraftia was discovered after the invention of micro-blocks, 1/100 of a block.), the second in it's crescent stage, and the first full. "Not to mention the moon phases. By their accounts, it should be mid-summer."

I brushed the densely accumulated snow from me, and I stood up. All around me, there were random pits and hills, a bit of lava here and a bit of ice there.

"Where am I?" I said quietly to myself.

"The Farlands." A voice said, causing me to jump. I spun around to see a figure sitting on a rock. He was in a black, tattered cloak with the hood low. "The Lost Realm, one might say."

"Who are you?" I shouted, the wind picking up around me, blowing my hair into my face. Snow lifted up of the ground and begun blowing this was and that.

"I am that of which cannot be uttered!" He shouted.

"I am your worst nightmare."

* * *

**Well, this certainly sets up something for once!**

**Hope I can get this one of the ground! Thanks!**

**- Sirplop**


	2. Chapter 1: An Unpleasant Dream

**Guys, just telling you now, perspectives are going to swap every chapter, so pay attention!**

"Come on, Rainbow! I'm open!" Pinkie Pie yelled. I tossed it as fast as I could, using my wings for stability. I heard the sound of hooves plucking a frisbee from the air.

"Ah, come on now, girls. This ain't fair. Rainbow's a pegasus and Pinkie's… well, Pinkie." Applejack said, standing on all fours again.

"And since when did you think frisbee had rules?" I retorted.

"(giggle) You should have thought of that before you chose teams." Twilight added. As you my have gathered, we were playing a game of frisbee outside of ponyville. Me and Pinkie were on one team, Applejack and Twilight on the other. Our current rules stated no magic, now flying. Nothing said about using wings for stability.

It had been a few years since what Princess Celestia called 'The Incident'. Nopony remembers what happened, except one madpony. His name was Zenexer, and he started ranting to various towns and cities about it. After about a year of it, Princess Celestia condemned him to the Gallows, a new addition to Canterlot. The Princesses had become more cautious since this Incident, but whatever it was, it must have changed Equestria forever. There was one remanent of it, though. A sword, completely made out of diamonds. It had a inscription on the blade, but nopony could ever depict it's meaning, as it was in a strange language. Princess Celestia had shown Twilight the inscription for study, and even she was baffled.

"Rainbow? You playing or not?" Applejack called. I shook my head a few times and turned to her.

"Sorry Applejack, buts it's nap time for me!" I said, stretching and yawning. Applejack gave me a doubtful look.

"Suuuure you do." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Have a good nap, Rainbow." Twilight said, smiling. I waved them off and flew to my napping tree, where I settled comfortably into the branch's nook and began to doze.

~~~~~~(|)~~~~~~

_The strange furless creature writhed on the stone table, several instruments extruding out of it's chest. And I was calling it's name._

_My voice sounded distant, like a pony on a hill. I was cast away from the room, blood coating the floor of it. I saw galaxies, nebulas, solar systems. As I floated in the voice of space, I suddenly rushed forwards, zooming into a galaxy, into a solar system, and hurtling towards a planet I knew only to well. But to a different side, to the north, infect. My vision zoomed to a lone figure, non-equine in appearance._

_It looked up from the lonely rock it was sitting upon, and reached out, it's hand made up of several little cubes. I reached a hoof out, our hands/hoofs almost touching. We collided and the "Wall" rippled, just where we 's mouth moved, as if saying something, and then it looked up in horror, and pretty soon, bolting. The seen ripped apart in front of my eyes, leaving me sitting in nothingness._

_A dark chuckle emitted from somewhere, or perhaps everywhere._

_"Well, what do we here? A mare, lost and alone, cast adrift upon the fabric of dream." It said. A dark, shadowed figure appeared. This creature was, quite literally, a shadowy fog. It had no feet, just a fog, and no eyes, huts empty holes, seemingly filled with hate, and knowledge._

_"What are you?" I asked, my voice echoing ghostly around the nothingness._

_"Absolutely nothing." It said, swishing around, circling me. "Do you miss him?"_

_"Miss who?" I answered in slight annoyance. It was slightly taken aback by this, or rather acting so._

_"Oh, that's right." It said, giving me a toothy grin. It's teeth were sharp, like razors."Your so-called Princess wiped your memories. How very quaint of her."_

_It started circling me._

_"Your Princesses cast a mass memory wiping spell." It begun."Erasing all memories of your past year. Making you forget about the laughs, the cries, the peace…. The War."_

_"What war?" I asked anxiously._

_"All in good time, Rainbow my dear." It said. " They wiped your memories of him. The love of your life. In fact, you were engaged."_

_"You lie."_

_"Thunderstrike was no lie, my dear. He was quite real."_

_My mind twisted and turned, burning and searing and throbbing with pain. I clutched my head, cradling it in-between my legs._

_"Much to your despair, he left you for another."_

_"No…"_

_"And you hate him for that."_

_"No…"_

_"And you hate yourself, for letting him LEAVE!"_

_"NO!" I shouted. I was on my hooves now, glaring menacingly at it._

_"And you-"_

_"ENOUGH SPIRIT!" A loud, booming voice yelled from the emptiness. Out of nowhere, Princess Luna appeared, walking towards us._

_"Luna." It said, giving her that toothy grin again._

_"YOU SHOULD NOT BE HERE, SPIRIT!" She yelled again. It had been quite some time since she used the royal-canterlot voice._

_The 'Spirit' hissed. "You should not be interfering with this, Princess._

_"It is my duty to." She retorted._

_"Watch your tongue, she-pony."_

_"Ego depellendam vos ex hoc somnium, malum unum! I nunc et animi pace dimittunt!"_

_The creature gave one short bloodcurdling scream, and vanished in a puff of smoke._

_"Expergiscere nunc, iuvenum unum. Erunt in pace." Luna said. She tapped me upon the head once with her horn….._

~~~~~~(|)~~~~~~

I awoke with a jolt, and a chill. I was lying in a hospital bed, clothed in the simple blue garments of patients. I heard whispering outside my chamber, and I strained to hear them.

"She's awake." I heard a mare say.

"Best to let her friends in first." A stallion said. I saw Twilight and the gang walk in. Pinkie rushed towards me and hopped onto the bed.

"WhathappenedDashieDidtheypok eyouwithneedlesOhIhateneedle stheystab-"

"Can it Pinkie." Applejack said, silencing Pinkie with a hoof.

"So, Rainbow, what happened?" Twilight asked, looking at me with a face saying 'Tell Me All You Know Or I Will Eat Your Soul'.

"First, tell me why you brought me here." I said, crossing my hooves.

"Well," Twilight began,"Applejack came to ask you if you would like to come to the spa with us, and instead she found you out cold and spazing on the ground. So she picked you up and took you to the hospital. She came by and told us what happened. So, what happened to you?"

"Well…" I started. I proceeded to tell them about the dream; the thing with the tools, the galaxies,the 'humanoid' as Twilight told me the shadow-thing, and Luna's intervention.

"Well… That's a lot of information to ingest. Rainbow, the doctor said your fine, but you should come back tomorrow for a medical checkup, so why not spend the rest of the day with us at the spa?" Rarity offered.

I tapped my hoof on my chin, thinking. "Sure, why not."


	3. Chapter 2: Stone and Fur

And with that, the Man was gone, leaving me in awe, and fear.

"What did he mean by my Worst Nightmare?" I asked to myself. I stood up, gazing around the snowy wasteland that made up The Farlands. Around me was a vast plain with mountains in the distance. I trekked along through the snow and ice towards one of the large mountainous outcroppings. As I approached, it seemingly got larger, more gloomy and evil. I stood up straight in front of the cliffside, figuring out how I was to traverse such a thing. Something caught my eye falling from the cliff; a stick-like object, red, and bent. As I observed it fall, I failed to notice _where _it was falling.

"Wai- *Thump* Ow!" I yelled, clutching at my face where the stick-thingy had hit.

"Ok, ow." I said calmly. I looked back up at the ledge, and something else caught my eye; a strange figure, with glowing white eyes. It wasn't Herobrine, I could tell. The eyes were to small. The figure turned, and walked away.

"Wait!" I yelled after it, but my voice was lost in the wind. "Well, there goes an opportunity. Now what is this stick-thing?"

I bent down and scooped up the object, along with a hand-full of snow. I brushed the snow away. The object was as I perceived it earlier, bent and red. But a feature I failed to see was from the base, or what I assumed to be the base, a vile black liquid flowed slowly, like jam.

"Well, your seem interesting enough to put up for study later." I said, putting it into my pocket. I looked back at the cliff and noticed something I hadn't before; a button in the cliffside with the label 'Push Me' engraved in big letters in an arc over the top.

"Well, curiosity killed the cat." I said, shrugging my shoulders. I reached forwards and pressed the button, it emitting an audible click. When it retracted, however, the sound of stone and mechanical parts grinding together filled my head. The ground began to shake, and snow began falling down into little crevices. Along one crevice, a bright blue light shone. A strange, horn-like noise echoed all around. I began to rise, the ground shaking under me. Snow fell away to reveal stone.

"What the he-EEEEEEE!" I yelled as a massive stone fist grabbed me from the rock. The fist took me down from it to face the large blue lights that were inserted into the rock. The rock resembled a face with a large unibrow and a flat nose.

**"Initiating Defensive procedure 1838795." **The Golem said in it's thunderous voice. **"Procedure 1: Identify Hostiles."**

It brought me up close to it's face, it hot steam blowing from the nose, or what would be a nose.

**"Attention unknown life-form." **It stated. **"Are thou hostile or neutral."**

"Uh…" I said. "Neutral?"

**"Response stored in Databanks. Thou are-are-are-are-are-ERROR-ERROR-ERROR." **It spazzed. A strange shadowy smoke began to creep out of the seams where the arms and legs and head attached to the torso. It's fist suddenly tightened and then released me. It slumped forwards or a long moment, and then stood tall once more, its eyes a fiery red. The shadows crept log its arm and legs, covering them completely. The shadow sank in, staining the stone a deep black, similar to basalt.

**"Hostile. Prepare to be annihilated." **It boomed. An arm shot out, making a grab at me, but I leaped to the side as it clutched the empty air. The arm whipped after me in pursuit, the hand flailing open and shut. It made another grab, but missed again as I made a sharp right. I ran as fast as I could, beads of sweat forming on my brow in the cold.

After a while of running, I finally stopped to look behind me. I couldn't see it, but it's red eyes pierced the darkness. The sun had set roughly 10 minutes ago. It thundered down after me, intent on my destruction. I turned tail and fled, half stumbling in the dark. Suddenly, I felt a hard surface on the tip of my foot, and next thing I know, I'm landing face-first in the snow. I look behind me back at the golem, but it's stopped, gazing around. I seized the moment to flee, but my curiosity got the better of me. I looked down at the object I stumbled over. It looked like a purple rock, but had ornate grooves and carving on it. Then I distinguished something that stopped me in my tracks.

A hand lay on the snow next to what I presumed to be it's head. I leaned over it as quietly as I could and brushed the snow from the face. Her, as I concluded, was unconscious. A long gash that ran down her face stained the snow under her red.

"Hey," I shook her, hoping she would wake up, "Can you hear me?"

No response.

"Well, no use leaving her to the mercy of the golem." I said to myself. I put my arm under her back and lifted her over my shoulder. A little scrap of paper fluttered from her hand and landed softly in the snow. I stooped down and picked it up. The writing was to blood-stained and crinkled to read, so I stuffed it into my pocket. I began walking with slowed progress to the nearest mountains, which I could barely make out along the horizon, where the last rays of sunlight breached the darkness.

About half an hour later, the wind picked up and a blizzard started. The snow battered me to no end, and finally I was forced to stop. The moon shone brightly through the clouds. I put the girl down on the ground next to a stain in the ground, which I sat upon. I looked back the way I had came, making sure the golem had lost me for good. There was nothing there.

I settled down, sliding to the ground in front of the rock and leaning upon it. Golem's weren't the smartest things in existence, and their programming flawed, but they packed one hell of a punch when angered. I looked over at the girl, who was propped up on the rock at my left. The snow was again red. I checked her face, but the wound had closed there. I began looking her over, and discovered that I had opened a wound on her left side, near her stomach. Her armor did not cover this part of her.

"Well, Shit." I said to myself, reaching into my bag. I pulled out a ragged cloth and began tying it around her. the storm died down for a second, and I could hear her very soft, shallow breaths. I finished tying the bandage, and settled back on the rock. Suddenly I felt the need for rest. Letting the feeling take over, I closed my eyes and gave a long yawn.

~~~~~~(|)~~~~~~

I opened my eyes groggily. It was bright out, and the blizzard had passed. I looked over to my right, and found the girl right where I had left her. I stood up, and felt a sharp pain in the small of my back. I pushed my back into and arch and heard a loud crack.

"I'm getting to old for this." I murmured as I stooped down and picked the girl up and tossed her over my shoulder. I continued walking towards the mountains, which had become much clearer. I started whistling a merry tune and gave my step a little extra bounce. Something tempted me to look backwards, and what I saw amazed my old eyes. The moon was still high ing the sky, and with it the night sky. It took up about half the sky and the sun the other.

"Wow." I breathed, the sight taking my breath away. I continued walking, taking occasional glances at the day-night sky.

It took about two days to reach the mountains. I had walked with occasional rests until I reach the bases, which their rocky, snow covered sides made impossible to climb. I walked along the base for a while, and finally took a break for the night. I pulled my jacket on closer as another blizzard began. I had covered the girl with a blanket I had in my bag. at the base of these mountains, everything seemed colder. I let myself drift of to sleep, only looking up once at a swish of snow.

Pain. Pain shooting me from my abdomen. I opened my eyes, just to see myself covered in my own blood. A massive bite mark pierced my shirt and skin, which oozed blood. I looked further, at the girl, but I couldn't see her. A massive, grey wolf-like creature stood in my view. It's claws were massive, at least a half foot long, and the mouth was lined with rows of teeth, each sharp and bloodstained. The creature turned it's massive head at me, it's yellow eyes narrow slits. It gave a single movement of a giant paw and turned to me, blood dripping from it's chin. I looked over at the girl, but she was fine. Her armor is tougher than I thought. I turned my gaze back towards the creature, who was now standing over me. It bent it's massive head down and bit me again, on the opposite side. it tore off a large amount of flesh when it released me. I gave a gurgley moan, which echoed through out the mountains.

The creature turned back to me, most likely intending to finally kill and eat me. I reached my un-injured arm to the small of my back, where my sword lay. I pulled with all my might, but it just wouldn't budge. Which left me with one option. Painfully, I leaned forwards, and grabbed the sword. I fell back with an audible thud and I looked at the sword, then at the creature. It leaned down, this time exposing many more teeth. I aimed the sword toward the area between the ears, and thrust with what little strength I had left. The sword cut easily through the skin and little bone, and straight into the spinal cord. The creature howled in pain and surprise. It finally fell down, feebly gasping. After a time, those gasps stopped.

I lay on my back, wondering if this was the end. I thought of Marelyn and where she might be. I thought of the unconscious girl propped against the rock over there. I thought of all my friends back home. I thought of what would become of my body. Would more of the wolf-creatures come? Would I slowly decompose until just my skeleton and clothes were left? Would the girl wake up and wonder what happened? I heated all these options, so I decided it was better to take a stand against death. I had evaded it before, but I knew I couldn't forever.

I lifted my self up, pain racking my body. The blood began flowing in rivers down my shirt, but I didn't care. I limped over to the girl, and with the last bit of strength, hoisted her over my shoulder. Adrenaline flooding my veins, I stomped on, heading south along the mountains. I set my jaw rigid and pressed on, though my body screamed at me to just lay down and accept my fate.

But I hate endings.

* * *

**Guys! Sorry this took so long, but I've been caught up in other things. But I wanted to tell you that you can PM me for a character to be added in chapter 4! It can be anything, but no aliens or what not. Try something more of an Orc or something like that.**

**Thanks for being amazing people,**

**- SirPlop**


	4. Chapter 3: Forgotten Friend-ish Ponies

"Thanks for bringing me home, guys." I said as I hopped out of the balloon.

"It was no problem, rainbow." Twilight responded.

I waved them goodnight as they floated away in her balloon. I turned back around to my house. I opened the door to the darkened house and felt around for the light switch. I soon found it and turned on the lights. The home was a nice, little home, with a table with a bench and a kitchen and two bedrooms.

"Home sweet home." I sighed, walking towards my room. I opened the door and walked in. I shut the door behind me and hopped on the bed. It had been a long day, with the hospital and everything, so I curdled up on the bed and went to sleep.

~~~~~~(|)~~~~~~

_"Tw-Twilight?" I asked, looking up at the mare who was hugging me._

_"Yes Rainbow Dash, I am here." She responded._

_"Where am I?" I asked, trying to look around._

_"Canterlot Castle." She said, releasing me from her embrace. I looked up and nearly let my jaw drop. There was Twilight, surely, but she stood at least twice my hight, and she had wings. She wore her Element of Harmony on her head, and had a necklace similar to Celestia's._

_"Something wrong, Rainbow?" She asked. I shook my head a little, clearing my mind._

_"No, Twilight, but, since when were you and alicorn?"_

_"Oh, well, my memory isn't as good as it once was, but I think that happened, oh, say 250 years ago?"_

_My jaw dropped. At least a foot._

_"You mean…. the rest of the gang?" I gulped hard._

_"Yes, Rainbow, they passed on long ago. I'll tell you this; They lived grand lives and grieved when you never returned."_

_"Never returned? Never returned from what?"_

_"From Your-" she started, but everything suddenly melted away into darkness._

_"Hello-o-o-o-o?" I said, my voice echoing into oblivion._

_"Hello again, Rainbow Dash." A dark, snide voice said. I whirled around, gazing straight into the holes of darkness again. The eyes seemingly filled with hate and knowledge. "Did you miss me? Or do you miss him more?"_

_"Shut up." I said bluntly, sitting hard on the ground._

_"Oh, the poor Rainbow Dash is too tired and grumpy to speak to little old me? Such a shame." It jeered._

_"Why can't you let me sleep in peace?" I said, whipping my head around to face it._

_"Because this time, I have a job to do." It proclaimed proudly._

_"Oh?"_

_"Yeah." It said, leaning closer. "WAKE UP!"_

~~~~~~(|)~~~~~~

I awoke with a jolt, sitting up, my wings spread wide. I was on the floor, again. I quickly got up and looked out the window. Luna's moon was still high in the sky, but that…. creature made me not want to sleep. I walked to the door of my room and opened it. There, sitting on the table, was a small white box with an occasional hole in it. A small note was attached, connected by a fray string. On top of the box was another note. I opened the note attached first.

_Give to a Good Home_

My head started throbbing, making my clutch at it and sit down. After it passed, I stood up and opened the note that wasn't attached.

_Rainbow Dash, if you are reading this, go to the Everfree Forest's far edge. There, you will find answers._

_-M_

"Now that's odd." I thought. "Who's M?"

But now it was time for the box. This box seemed very familiar, but the hazy memory throbbed with pain inside my head. I hesitated before placing my hooves around the lid, and opened it.

Inside were three objects; a strange, green cocoon-like thing, a strange green scale, and a very strange crystal-thing. Many crystals protruded from the center, in which a light, almost as bright as the sun, shone through the little gaps. It was about the size of my hoof, but was far to sharp to pick up.

As I observed the objects, a letter appeared in front of me, adorned with the royal seal. I immediately took off the seal and opened up the letter;

_Dear Rainbow Dash,_

_You are required in Canterlot because of a most urgent problem. I await your appearance._

_Sincerely,_

_Princess Celestia_

_P.S.- Tell no one._

_P.S.S.- Burn this._

I set the letter on the table, taking in the information. I now had a difficult choice to make; To go to Celestia, or to meet with this mysterious "M". I sighed, and sat down in a chair. I felt a familiar snuzzle on my leg, and I reached down and patted Tank on the head.

"What should I do Tank?" I said, looking down at him. "I want these 'Answers' whoever it is has for me, but I also need to see Celestia."

He simply did his slow blink in response.

I sighed louder, planting my face in my forelegs. IT was silent for a long while before I felt the snuzzle again, this time more vigorous. I looked down at Tank again, who now had somehow gotten a long, black cloak from the closet. He held it up to me in his mouth, his eyes sparkling with defiance.

"Your right Tank. I can defy Princess Celestia this once." I said, standing and picking up the cloak. I threw it on and walked to the door. I picked up my saddle bags (Which I now always kept packed for a journey) and opened the door. The cool night air blew in, making me shiver a little. I looked back at Tank.

"I'll be back before you know it, buddy!" I said, drawing the hood over my head. I walked out the door, spread my wings, and took flight. The nightly air aided my flight, as it was blowing towards the Everfree. It was a short trip to the Everfree, and with the aid of the wind, even shorter. I landed with a cloud of dust arising around me.

"Hello?" I called, my voice ringing in the still night. Silence followed.

"Helloo-oo?" I called again.

"Ahh, so she decided to show. How very nice." A voice said out of the darkness.

"Damnit, you win the bet." A different voice said, this one sounding more ruff. I heard the jingle of a few coins and a satisfied chuckle.

"Show yourselves!" I yelled at the forest. a few trees groaned in the wind, but overall, nothing moved. Then, all of the sudden, a green light erupted from within the forest. It came closer, and then dimmed. On either side of me, a pony stepped out. on my left was a dark green pony with a black vest on, dark purple eyes, and a dull red and blue mane. On my right came a tannish colored unicorn with a red and orange mane and light blue eyes.

"Good evening, miss Rainbow Dash. I see you got our letter." The one on the right said.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Oh, that's simple, Rainbow my dear. I am Mercury."


	5. Chapter 4: Nearing Civilisation

**BEHOLD!**

**I'm alive!**

* * *

I trudged on, surviving on sheer force of will. The pain was almost unbearable. I stumbled over a rock and fell, swearing loudly in the process. The girl fell of of my shoulder and rolled onto the ground, her head lolling around.

"I can't keep this up forever." I said to myself. I looked down at my hands, they being pale and covered in blood and lacerations from climbing over the rocks and boulders that line the mountainside. I sat up, groaning in pain. I slowly turned my head around, to see how far I had come.

My blood trailed on for miles.

I felt dizzy and light headed. "Maybe I should just take a nap…" I said, "Yeah, that sounds nice….." I laid my head back on a rock anklet my eyes droop until sleep finally overcame me.

~~~~~~(|)~~~~~~

_*Thump Thump Thump-Thump, Thump Thump Thump-Thump.*_

Something was coming. I tried to open my eyes, but they were glued shut.

"Whoa there!" A gruff sounding voice called. The thumping stopped. I heard metal jingling and heavy footsteps in my direction.

"'Oh is 'ey?" another voice called, this one more nasally.

I heard a slight gasp. "The Thief who kidnapped the Lady, Thimble! At least he looks dead enough." I felt large hands grip my shirt and lift me up. "Why'da do it, lad?" He asked, shaking me a little. He released me, letting me fall back down. "Thimble, check his life signs."

My head and cheats suddenly felt warm, like someone had draped a blanket over me.

"Minor brain activities, slowed 'eart rate." The nasally voice, Thimble, said. "'Ey can 'ear us alright, its just ta speaking' bit 'ey can't do." The warmth stopped.

"Well, he ain't going anywhere in his current state. Wolves got at him." The gruff one said.

"Are 'ye sure it twas the Wolves, Yorlleg?" Thimble said.

"Bite marks match, along with depth." The gruff one, Yorlleg, said. "He got out alive, which means he killed it. Better go back and get it. Dead things do strange things after dark." I heard the rustle of metal again. "Felix! Get the Lady Luna and take her back to the village. We're going to get that corpse for that wizardy fellow to study."

"Yes sir!" a younger, more inexperienced voice called out. There were a few thumps, like something turning around.

"They have mounts." I thought.

"And Felix; stop it with the sir shit, will ye?" Yorlleg said.

"Yes sir-err captain!" He called out, taking off. There was a long moment of silence as Felix's mount thundered away. The Yorlleg person muttered a few curses after the other, but other then that was content.

"Thimble!" Yorlleg barked. "Get this thieving scum onto your mount. Good enough to let him stand trial. Might as well just execute him."

Oh, how I hate executions.

I was picked up by what felt like very thin arms that strained under my weight.

"Ooh, this 'uns a 'eavy 'un." Thimble said from beneath me.

"Oh, shush it." Yorlleg said. "Blindfold him so he can't see where we're goin'."

I opened my eyes to get a glimpse at the men. Yorlleg was seated on his mount, which was a five-legged wolf with thick, brown matted fur, and eyes of a shining red-orange, similar to fire. It was heavily armed with long, edged claws and many rows of razor-sharp teeth. Yorlleg himself was quite a large man, with big, burly arms covered in hair and large brown beard. The most distinguishing feature about Yorlleg was that he had a long black scar that ran over his right eye, which was simply an empty hole. The blindfold came over my eyes, and I lost sight of the beast and Yorlleg.

"Give him a good wallop on the head, just to make sure we get no trouble." Yorlleg said, snapping at the reins of his mount. The last thing I remember was the sensation of fast movement and a large bump on top of my head.

~~~~~~(|)~~~~~~

"…Want to get a sandwich after the shifts over?" A voice asked, and relatively close.

Wait…What?

"Sure, Fornot, a samvich does sound appealin." Another voice answered.

"Guards." I thought. I groggily opened my eyes to only be met with a grey brick wall. I sat up slowly, taking care to not open the wounds in my stomach and chest. When I was fully up, I glanced around. The cell I was in(It was obviously a cell) was simple; a bed, which I was seated on, a small table, and a wall made of bars with a door. I looked down at my clothes, which were now a simple grey shirt and my pants and shoes. I heard some foot steps going away from me, which sounded like boots.

"Um… Hello?" I asked cautiously to the guards.

"Eh? Oh joy. Another one." The right guard grumbled. "Let me guess; Your going to ask where you are, why your here, and who you can speak to. Well let me answer those questions for you. Your in a cell in the dungeons of Castle Del Huberto, Your here for kidnapping the Lady Luna, and there ain't no one you can speak to."

I stroked my beard, looking at him. "Oh, your good."

"Yes I am. Now shut up and watch the trials." He answered bluntly. It was only now that I noticed that a tiny window had opened up near the ceiling. It too was barred. I stood on the bed and gazed outside. There was a shiny blue and green aurora high in the sky, giving the night an eerie glow. Torchlight filled the square, and I could see why. There, in the center, was a large set of gallows. I saw four guards escorting a frail man out of the outside wall above me and to my right. Once they reached the gallows, they tied his neck in the noose. An old man stood before him, holding a very long sheet of paper.

"Roster Filamen, you have been charged with the murder of Thregrat Netergrew on the seventh moon of the New Cycle. What say you in your defense?" The man with the sheet called out.

"I hope you all burn in hell! Every last one of you!" The man in the noose called out.

"Very well. Jugg, the lever." The man with the sheet said, looking down at the paper again. The hangman, apparently Jugg, pulled the lever, opening a trapdoor beneath the condemned.

"May the Creator have mercy upon you." Sheet-Man said quietly. Roster's, the condemned, hands went to his throat as he tried to undo the noose. In a few seconds, his struggle ceased. Jugg took him down and tossed him in a cart. "Next!" Sheet-Man called.

"Times up, buddy." The guards said. I turned to see the guards tugging out a rather violent woman. She had fiery eyes that matched her hair, and she was not something I had seen before. She was rather small, and had webbed hands and feet, almost like a fish. THey took her out to the gallows and tied her into the noose.

"Meladason Rethure, You are charged with the theft of twenty-five pounds of gold from the castle holds. What say you in your defense?"

'"I am falsely accused! It was My sister who stole it, not I!" she cryed. The Sheet-Man raised a very bushy eyebrow.

"There is only one who will truly know." He said. He walked over to the sides of the Gallows and picked up a small, purple, metallic rod. He then picked up a bell made of gold and struck it three times. There was a flash of light from higher up on the castle, though I could not see where, followed by a long stream of curses. I saw many people gasp in awe at what was happening above me. After a few moments, a figure landed on the gallows with a thud. It was humanoid, but had massive black feathered wings sprouting from it's back. I could not see it's front, but it wore a red hat.

"What is it this time, Gallows-Master? I have better things to attend to, you know." The humanoid said. The Gallows-Master bowed his head graciously.

"My Lord, this woman claims that it was not she who stole Twenty-Five pounds of gold from your treasure hold two moons ago. I thought to ask for your guidance." He said.

"I've told you this before; if your unsure, ask the crowd." The Humanoid, which I deemed to be a man by the tone of his voice. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have much to attend to." and with one quick flap of his wings, he was soaring through the sky towards the top of the castle.

"So, what do you think, people? The Gallows-Master called to the crowd.

"Hang her! Hang her! Hang her!" Was what they shouted at him.

"You heard them, Jugg. The lever." He said. The people quietened down as Jugg waddled over and pulled the lever.

"Nooooo-Huaragh!~~" The woman called out as she was hung. The Master repeated the phrase he had said earlier. I turned around to the guards, who were still outside my cell.

"So, when am I getting trialed?" I asked them.

"Oh," He responded,"Your going tomorrow."


	6. Chapter 5: Professor and Assistant

"Mercury? Why does that suddenly sound familiar…" I said. My head started to hurt.

"Ah, there goes the Memorical Barrier, doing it's job." Mercury said, smiling.

"You like your fancy words, don't you Mercury." The left one said.

"Oh, shush now, Jade. Your just here because your stuck with me.

"What do you mean by 'Stuck'?" I sakes, rubbing my head a little for good measure.

"Well, my dear, it's all really quite simple. Grey Jade is, well, dead. Hung, in fact. Er, Theft of the crown jewels, was it?"

"Yes." Grey Jade grumbled.

"Good, now after his body was disposed of, I simply found it and…. well, let's just say 'Brought him back to life', shall we?"

"So, you resurrected him?" I asked. A cool breeze brushed past me, making me pull my cloak closer.

"Well, 'Resurrect' is a bit rough, but yes."

We stood there for a while as the breeze brushed past us. I still don't know how Mercury didn't feel cold! Perhaps a heat spell or something?

"Now then, here comes the fun bit." Mercury said, approaching. "Time to crack open that Memorical Barrier."

"Hold on." I said, putting my hoof out and stopping him. "You've mentioned that before, that 'Memorical Barrier'. What is that?"

"Well, the Memorical Barrier is, well, a memory wipe and shield, produced by Princess Celestia and Luna to hide the events of seven months. What it does is it pushes those memories to the far reaches of the mind, and then encases it in a shell to keep it there. Whenever the subject tries to remember that certain event, the magic keeps them out of them. BUT on this large of a scale, enwrapping the whole of Equestria, takes a massive amount of magic, and focus. No living being has such focus as to accomplish such a thing. I'm rambling now, I should stop. The focus required means that whoever is thinking about everything in Equestria can't think about absolutely everything, which is why someponies vaguely remember those memories. Now my question is; Who has that amount of mind-power? And there's only one way of knowing." He concluded.

"And that would be?" I asked, slightly asleep from his lecture.

"Spying on the Princesses, of course!"

I simply sat there,wondering if he was speaking the truth or just pulling my chain.

Well, we best be off then!" Mercury said, turning towards the old dirt road that pointed too the west (The direction of Canterlot). I sat there, gawking after him. Grey Jade walked up next to me, and elbowed me to stand.

"Think about it. We walked here from bloody Night's Edge! the poor place. Did you know that Mercury became a professor at the University of Canterlot and personally taught Princess Luna about the modern age? I guess that's where he got the lecturing part of him. And his glasses."

"Spectacles!" Mercury yelled over his shoulder. He was already quite a ways away from us.

"Eh, Spectacles. They're his tiny glasses that make him seem 'Intelligent'." Jade muttered to me. I giggled at that last remark. We started walking, well more of running to catch up to Mercury. Once we caught up to him we began the general 'Adventuring' dialogues.

"So, where did Mercury learn about the Memorical barrier? And why can't he simply get rid of it?" I asked Jade.

"From what he's told me, he found out about it by reading Luna's mind. When he was teaching her, she left her mind completely vulnerable to a mental attack. Mercury read her mind, and sort of "Patched" it."

"Patched?" I asked bluntly.

"Well, more of set up a temporary mental barrier while he was turned away, using the chalk on the board. The best thing about magic is that you can hide a spell under another one."

The rest of the trip's talk generally revolved around where/when Mercury did something or how he did it. Me and Grey Jade where so caught up in our conversation that we nearly rear-ended Mercury at the gates if Canterlot. This was at roughly 4 in the morning, so no pony was up and around. Except for the guards stationed on the wall, the city was silent, like a library.

"Hellooo-oooo?" Mercury called up to the battlements atop the wall. Two guards responded almost immediately.

"Who goes there?" They said simultaneously. Mercury cast a simple illumination spell to show who we are.

"I believe you know who I am?" Mercury said. The guards went wide-eyed for a moment, and then bolted to the gatehouse. The gate opened about a minute later. A guard stood next to it. He nodded us in.

"Professor Mercury." the guard nodded towards him. "Assistant Jade." He again nodded.

"…Ma'am." He nodded at me. After the gates shut, Jade started chuckling a bit.

"Heh heh, Ma'am." He snorted.

"Oh, shut up!" I said at him elbowing him in the ribs. He acted hurt.

"Owwy! That hurtses me! Heh heh!"

"Shut up, both of you!" Mercury said, silencing us both. "We're in the most heavily guarded city in the country, at 4 in the morning, walking around with a highly skilled unicorn with far too many enemies!"

We walked on in silence for a while, until I broke it.

"So, where are we going, anyways?" I asked.

"My apartment. It's quite near the castle, and I also need to say hello to my wife… boy is she going to be mad." Mercury said, flicking his eyes in my direction.

"Why do you say that?" Jade asked.

"I told her I'd be away for 4 days."

"Yeah?"

"Let's just say I was away for much longer then that." He said, nervously.

"Oh…." I said, itching my foreleg.

We walked on in yet more silence through the dark streets of Canterlot. We passed onto a Hoofer Street, Mercury lead us to one of the taller buildings, which we guessed to be his apartment.

"Here we are, home sweet home." Mercury said, opening the door. It was rather dusty inside the hallway, like it hadn't been disturbed for a very long while.

"Why's it so dusty?" Jade asked, tapping a book on a small shelf. The dust rose in a small cloud before settling upon the ground.

"Nopony really comes or goes from here often, and most of us can teleport or fly out, so there's really no need," Mercury said. He pointed to distinct hoofprints on the ground. "Those belong to falling fields, one of the only earth ponies that lives here."

"So, which room is yours?" I asked, looking up the flight of spiral stairs.

"Number 12. You might hear movement inside, but that would probably be my wife."

Me and Jade walked up the staircase, dust rising with every step. The air got rather musty as you went up, and the dust only made it worse. We reached the floor marked 10-19, and we climbed off. It was even dustier in here then downstairs. I heard a chittering sound at the end of the hall, but payed it no heed. We walked to the door marked 11, on the left, and knocked on the door. There was no answer. The chittering sounded again, but it had gotten the door opened slowly, but there was nobody inside. I walked in.

"Hello?" I asked. I heard something large falling from above and looked quickly enough to see a large frying pan being swung at my face. I cringed and held my wing in front of me.

"Jade!" I yelled, before the pan came crashing down on my head. I was still partially conscious, but I was fainting. I could hear Jade tackle whoever it was to the floor and hold them there while I heard Mercury rushing up the stairs. I faintly saw Mercury arrive and throw Jade off of his wife, who suddenly looked very familiar. Mercury shouted something, but I couldn't make it out.

And then all was black.

* * *

**Look at me! Not dead yet!**


End file.
